The subject matter disclosed herein relates to monitoring and, in particular, to monitoring the operations of a heat steam recovery generator to predict failures or lifetimes of components thereof.
Steam turbines can be used to produce electricity and require a source of steam to operate. One approach to generating steam used in combined-cycle power plants is to pass hot exhaust from a gas turbine into a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). Water in tubes in the HRSG is heated by the hot exhaust to form steam that is provided to and drives one or more steam turbines.
Several factors effect the lifting and maintenance needs of an HRSG. The most prevalent cause of HRSG failure lies in failure of the tubes that carry water/steam around the HRSG. Some sources of failure include creep, fatigue, and corrosion.